Transgender Man Fired For Refusing To Present As Female

A transgender man, Tristan Broussard, is suing his former employer after he was fired for refusing to present female at work, despite his employers being aware of his transgender status when hiring him.

Tower Loan in Charles Creek, Louisiana, hired Tristan in 2013, at which point his line manager questioned the fact that he had female birth markers on his identification. Tristan informed his line manager that he was transgender, and that he had even been on hormone replacement therapy for the previous year. His line manager informed him that his being transgender would not be an issue and that he would be working in a judgement free environment.

However, Tristan was later called in to a meeting with the companies Vice President and informed that his gender was not ‘in compliance with Tower Loan’s personnel policies’. Tristan was presented with a document that he was informed that he would need to sign agreeing to that fact.

He reported that the document read, ‘I understand that my preference to act and dress male, despite having been born a female, is not something that will be in compliance with Tower Loan’s personnel policies. I have been advised as to the proper dress for females and have been provided with a copy of the female dress code. I also understand that when meeting occur that require out of town travel and an overnight room is required, I will be assigned a room with a female.’

Upon refusing to sign Tristan was immediately fired. He described his feelings after the incident as ‘anger, embarrassment, whenever you’re singled out like that, you don’t feel human anymore. You’re just an alien nobody can understand.’

In addition to being fired for refusing to dress and be treated as female Tristan also reported that his former employer asked if he ‘had some surgeries and we can see some results we would consider hiring you back’.

The Southern Poverty Law Centre civil rights group is currently representing Tristan in his legal case against Tower Loan.